Stuck trucks tie up traffic in Jamesburg BY SETH MANDEL Staff Writer JAMESBURG - Despite increased signs and fines, truck drivers on Gatzmer Avenue continue to get their rigs stuck underneath a 12-foot-high overpass. The wedging of the trucks, which has been a problem for years, results in road closures, massive traffic delays in the vicinity, and the need for police to be pulled from regular patrols. Acting Jamesburg Police Chief Paul Karkoska said the incidents seem to happen in bunches, often followed by a period of time where there are no problems. In 2003, the Borough Council tried to address the issue by requiring offenders of the height restriction to pay a $500 fine. But with two more incidents this month, on March 3 and 13, Karkoska said the fines do not appear to be deterring the truck drivers, who are often headed to warehouses such as Costco off Possum Hollow Road or the nearby industrial parks. "Most of the trucks that we get there are looking for Costco. ... They don't frequent this part of the country all that often, and they get themselves in trouble with the bridge," Karkoska said. For years, tractor-trailers have approached the railroad pass, unable to fit underneath it. Even those trucks that stop short of the bridge must turn around, which can cause traffic jams of varied degrees. Each time, police officers must respond to the scene, taking them away from regular patrols, and supervise a safe turnaround of the trucks, Karkoska said. This process can take less than an hour or as much as four or five hours. The length of time depends on whether the truck actually hits the bridge, and what maneuvers the towing companies must perform. Part of the problem is that many of the truck drivers are en route to Docks Corner Road in South Brunswick. Unfortunately, as Mayor Anthony LaMantia noted, this is confusing to drivers since the Docks Corner Road in Jamesburg does not connect with the road of the same name in South Brunswick. Docks Corner Road was split in 1951 for the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike. The Jamesburg section runs along the borough's Monroe border from Route 522 to Route 535. The South Brunswick section, just a few miles away, takes motorists into the industrial park many of the truck drivers are looking for. Jamesburg Council President Joseph Jennings said there is sufficient signage warning drivers well before the trucks reach a point where they can no longer turn off the road. "I think we've tried everything we possibly can. We've got plenty of signage up there, and I would think some of these trucking companies would be sure to relay the word to their drivers," Jennings said. LaMantia agreed, saying the truck companies should take more responsibility and warn their drivers. The borough, he said, has been working with officials from Middlesex County and Monroe Township to improve the signage, though the warnings can't get much clearer. "No matter which way we've been [trying to prevent the incidents], they've still been having trouble. I don't know what their problem is," LaMantia said. "I wish the drivers would start realizing, and that the companies start looking at the areas that they're going to and how to get to them a different way." Karkoska said the trucks have, at times, taken out some of the very signs that warn them of the height restriction. "The county has replaced the signs on both sides of the bridge once already, because they were damaged beyond recognition from trucks hitting them," Karkoska said. Some of the trucks' GPS (global positioning system) units don't alert the drivers that the bridge is even there, he noted. LaMantia said that Costco changed its address to Costco Way, but many Internet map sites have not incorporated the changes. But even with all the confusion that leads drivers to the wrong road, LaMantia said, the signs should still be sufficient. "That still doesn't make up for them coming down where the bridge is, because when they come down and they see that the sign is there, there's a roadway that they can turn off," LaMantia said. "I guess they don't pay attention or they're not watching where they're going, and that's where the problem comes from."